wfn.org | Peace to the City launch

[mr@wcc-coe.org]

World Council of Churches
Press Release
For Immediate Use
18 August, 1997

"PEACE TO THE CITY": GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO GO PUBLIC AUGUST 31

Seven cities struggling against violence. Seven cities where people are
working to build peace with justice. Seven cities where such groups
have agreed to share their experiences with people and organisations
around the world, to create a global network for peace.

This is "Peace to the City", a global campaign of the World Council of
Churches  (WCC) Programme to Overcome Violence (POV). The
campaign will go public at 14:30h, Sunday 31 August 1997 in
Johannesburg, South Africa.

"Peace to the City" is an effort to respond to the rise of violence - in
many forms - around the world. The focus is on the city as a microcosm
of some of the most destructive forces and some of the most creative
initiatives to overcome violence.

The campaign emphasises not the violence but imaginative models of
reconciliation and community rebuilding. The goals are to make them
visible, highlight approaches and methodologies, stimulate sharing and
networking and, most important, give others hope and the practical tools
to attempt something similar in their own contexts.

Launching the global campaign, South African Council of Churches
(SACC) General Secretary Brigalia Bam will welcome church and
government representatives to a ceremony in the Standard Bank Area,
Johannesburg. Worship, music (including four huge massed choirs),
speeches and symbolic acts will be interwoven in the
two-and-a-half-hour ceremony.

South African deputy president Thabo Mbeki is expected to address the
gathering, as is WCC general secretary Konrad Raiser. Anti-apartheid
veteran Beyers Naude will preach the sermon.

Keynote speaker Jeffrey Brown, a US Baptist pastor involved in the
National Ten-Point Coalition to prevent youth and family violence, will
bring introduce the "Peace to the City" campaign and bring a message of
hope and alternatives to violence.

WCC Central Committee member Janice Love will introduce the
Programme to Overcome Violence (POV) and the seven cities campaign.
Each of the seven "Peace to the City" coordinators will then report briefly
from his or her city, where the work for peace, justice, reconciliation and
community-building focuses on a particular facet of violence: political
violence in Durban (South Africa), communal or sectarian violence in
Belfast (Northern Ireland), ethnic violence in Colombo (Sri Lanka), youth
violence and violence against women in Boston (USA), street violence in
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), ethnic violence and defence of indigenous rights
in Suva (Fiji), and urban violence in Kingston (Jamaica).

Beyond the symbolic seven cities, churches, religious communities,
peace and justice organisations, and individuals engaged in
peace-building all over the world are invited to participate in the campaign
to create a dynamic global network for peace.

To that end, a "Peace to the City" WWW home page links the seven cities 
projects and offers campaign news, "chats" and information on studies
and research to interested churches and peace organisations. They can
also subscribe to a free list server or mail newsletter for information,
resources, special news and announcements. The WCC will produce a
video and a popular-style book about each city s experiences of violence
and peace-with-justice projects, to be ready for its 1998 Assembly in
Harare.

If you plan to atttend/cover the launch, contact Eddie Makue, South
African Council of Churches (SACC). Telephone: +27.11 492 1380.
Telefax: +27.11 492 1448.
E-mail: eddie@sacc.org.za 

For more information on the POV and the campaign, contact POV
coordinator Salpy Eskidjian at the WCC. Telephone: +41.22.791 62 05.
Telefax: +41.22.791 03 61. E-mail: sal@wcc-coe.org

 Press packs will be available at the launch, or in advance from:
WCC Press & Information Office
150 Route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland 
Telephone: +41.22) 791 61 67  Telefax: +41.22) 798 13 46 
E-mail: MR@WCC-COE.ORG. 

POV Web site: http://www.wcc-coe.org/pov
POV list server:  <majordomo@info.wcc-coe.org"> with <subscribe
pov-l> in the message body.

**********
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 330, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions.  The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but
works cooperatively with the WCC.  The highest governing body is the
Assembly, which meets approximately every seven years.  The WCC
was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Its staff is
headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church
in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Press and Information Office
Tel:  (41.22) 791.61.52/51
Fax:  (41.22) 798 13 46
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